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                                                    West Ham
                                                    Carlton Cole (74 mins)
                                                    Alessandro Diamanti (80 mins)
                                                    2-2
                                                    Arsenal
                                                    Robin van Persie (16 mins)
                                                    William Gallas (37 mins)

                                                    Barclays Premier League , Oct 25, 2009
                                                    Ground: Upton Park , Kickoff: 15:15 , Att 34,442

                                                    Team news

                                                    Parker returns for derby clash Scott Parker returns for West Ham against Arsenal on Sunday, after serving a one-match suspension for picking up five yellow cards.

                                                    Danny Gabbidon hopes to start after recovering from a calf problem, and Kieron Dyer (hamstring) could be in the squad. Dean Ashton (ankle), Luis Boa Morte (knee) and Calum Davenport( leg) are all long-term absentees.

                                                    Gianfranco Zola wants to make the Hammers so attractive that a billionaire will dig deep into his pockets and put the club on a firm financial footing.

                                                    He wants to start the process of luring a big-money benefactor by beating Arsenal in the London derby at Upton Park afternoon to spark a climb up the Premier League table.

                                                    He said: "I would love to see more tranquility around this club. We dealt very well with the problems last year because we focused on the pitch and made things much easier for everybody.

                                                    "If you make things happen on the football pitch then everything becomes easier. If we play like we can maybe a billionaire can come and buy us, anything can happen. It is all about playing football well and getting points." Zola makes it sound simple but it has been anything but for his West Ham team, who have not won a league match since beating Wolves on the opening day of the season.

                                                    To make matters worse the Hammers are in financial meltdown. Their future remains uncertain as Straumur, the stricken Icelandic bank which owns them, strives desperately to find new investment.

                                                    The asking price is #100million. Debts are reported at anywhere between #40-50million. If a new owner is not found soon almost certainly Zola will have to raise cash by selling more top stars to go along with the 10 senior professionals who have been sold since June 2008.

                                                    The little Italian, however, is not fazed by his first traumatic time in management.

                                                    True, he admits to a few sleepless nights and he insists he will not be changing his philosophy of attacking, fluent football at all cost. But if he is frantically paddling beneath the water line then it does not show as he wears an almost permanent grin.

                                                    He says: "There are clubs in the league which have much bigger debts than us. As far as I know the owners of the club believe in what we are doing.

                                                    "We want to keep the best players and I know exactly what I have to do and I'm doing my best." Arsenal expect to have both Croatia striker Eduardo (groin) and Nicklas Bendtner (groin) available for the trip to West Ham on Sunday.

                                                    Winger Tomas Rosicky (knee) will miss out and Theo Walcott is set for around a month on the sidelines following knee medial ligament damage.

                                                    Samir Nasri, who broke his leg during pre-season, and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (knee) are both close to a first-team return, but midfielder Denilson (back) and centre-half Johan Djourou (knee) remain out.

                                                    Arsene Wenger has plenty of sympathy for Zola, as the West Ham manager continues to battle against problems caused by the credit crunch.

                                                    Arsenal are proud of their self-sustaining business model, built around the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium which, so far, has seen them not need to rely solely on the financial input of one individual.

                                                    The Hammers, though, are one of several Premier League clubs whose owners have found themselves troubled by the recent economic downturn, as their Icelandic former chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson was hit hard and forced to sell the club.

                                                    Wenger can empathise with the plight of the Italian coach, on whom he will look to increase the pressure by making it five league wins in a row.

                                                    "I have a big deal of sympathy for him," Wenger told reporters.

                                                    "I believe he is doing well, but of course he has lost players, and like a lot of teams they have had to cut their expenses.

                                                    "From then on it becomes more difficult." Wenger, speaking to Arsenal TV Online, reflected: "When the quality of a football club is linked with the financial situation of any given person, you have a risk involved that the club could suffer because of the personal situation of the owner." The Gunners boss, though, believes under the circumstances, Zola is doing an admirable job.

                                                    "I believe no matter what kind of players you have, it is always important to play in a positive way as it is the best way to be successful. That is what he tries to do," Wenger said.

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                                                    West Ham vs Arsenal

                                                    Last modified 18:37 25/10/09

                                                    Hammers fight back to deny Arsenal Arsenal threw away the chance of a fifth straight Barclays Premier League win as West Ham battled back to earn a 2-2 draw at Upton Park.

                                                    The Gunners had looked in complete control following first-half goals from Robin van Persie and William Gallas.

                                                    However, Carlton Cole pulled a goal back before substitute Alessandro Diamanti netted a late penalty.

                                                    West Ham finished with 10 men when Scott Parker was shown a second yellow card, but were not to be denied a much-needed positive result.

                                                    Gianfranco Zola's men had shown plenty of early promise, when Cole's drive was charged down before again being undone by some poor defending.

                                                    Arsenal slowly started to get themselves on top, with Robert Green standing up well at the near post to palm Van Persie's angled drive behind for a corner.

                                                    At the other end, Vito Mannone - again preferred in goal to Manuel Almunia - needed treatment after being clattered by James Tomkins when coming to collect a corner.

                                                    Arsenal felt they had a strong shout for a penalty when, on 11 minutes, Van Persie's strike appeared to hit Matthew Upson, the former Gunners defender, on the arm, but referee Chris Foy thought otherwise.

                                                    Eventually, though, the visitors took the lead on 16 minutes.

                                                    Abou Diaby fed full-back Bacary Sagna on the overlap down the right.

                                                    The French defender whipped the ball across the six-yard box, where Green came to palm it away, only to collide with Tomkins, leaving Van Persie free to slot into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season.

                                                    Despite the setback, West Ham remained positive.

                                                    Cole continued to ask questions of the Arsenal defence, with Gallas getting across to clear after another powerful run down the right.

                                                    Arsenal, though, weathered the period of West Ham pressure, and slowly took charge of midfield again.

                                                    Upton Park was subdued, with the home fans starting to get restless before Arsenal doubled their lead on 37 minutes.

                                                    A 25-yard shot from Cesc Fabregas was deflected behind for a corner.

                                                    Van Persie whipped the ball across towards the far post, where Gallas got up to thump a header past Parker on the line.

                                                    In stoppage time, Green, hoping to be part of England's World Cup squad, got down quickly to save well from Emmanuel Eboue's low, angled drive.

                                                    West Ham had more impetus about them following the restart.

                                                    Alexandre Song fouled Cole to concede a free-kick 30 yards out, just left of centre.

                                                    The delivery from Mark Noble, though, was poor and the move eventually broke down.

                                                    Andrey Arshavin, who up until now had been largely anonymous, dashed into the left side of the West Ham area, before drilling a low ball across the face of goal.

                                                    Italian Diamanti, sent on just before the hour mark, at least injected some life into the West Ham attack, as he fired a 35-yard effort wide.

                                                    Cesc Fabregas then almost drilled in a third from a shorter distance, but the ball flew just wide of the top right corner.

                                                    England Under-21 youngster Zavon Hines, also on as a substitute, knocked the ball down to Cole, who turned and fired just wide.

                                                    This was a good spell for the Hammers, as Clichy made an important block when Hinds looked to get away his shot from eight yards.

                                                    Fabregas broke quickly, before feeding Arshavin and Green was at full stretch to beat away the Russian's 20-yard effort.

                                                    Diaby then wrestled Hinds to the ground, giving away a needless free-kick in a dangerous position, five yards outside the area on the left.

                                                    Diamanti smashed the ball goalwards, which Mannone did well to keep out, but pushed it back to the six-yard box where Cole headed in to give West Ham a life-line on 74 minutes.

                                                    The home fans were screaming for a penalty when Parker went down after running into Gallas, but the referee waved play on.

                                                    However, a spot-kick was given with 10 minutes left when Song tripped Cole.

                                                    After Mannone had been booked for not going back on his line, Diamanti levelled to send Upton Park into delirium.

                                                    West Ham were reduced to 10 men when Parker, already booked, was shown a second yellow card for deliberately falling on the ball as Fabregas charged clear.

                                                    Diaby was substituted for Eduardo as Wenger went for the win.

                                                    Team Line-ups

                                                    West HamRating
                                                    Player rating out of ten Player name Substitution Did they score? Player's disciplinary record Rating
                                                    1 Robert Green
                                                    18 Jonathan Spector
                                                    30 James Tomkins
                                                    15 Matthew Upson
                                                    23 Herita Ilunga
                                                    21 Valon Behrami(sub 90)
                                                    8 Scott Parker
                                                    16 Mark Noble(sub 55)
                                                    31 Jack Collison
                                                    12 Carlton Cole Goal
                                                    10 Guillermo Franco(sub 63)
                                                    Substitutes
                                                    28 Peter Kurucz
                                                    14 Radoslav Kovac(sub 90)
                                                    20 Julien Faubert
                                                    22 Manuel Da Costa
                                                    32 Alessandro Diamanti(sub 55)
                                                    41 Zavon Hines(sub 63)
                                                    46 Junior Stanislas
                                                    ArsenalRating
                                                    Player rating out of ten Player name Did they score? Player's disciplinary record Substitution Rating
                                                    24 Vito Mannone
                                                    3 Bacary Sagna
                                                    10 William Gallas
                                                    5 Thomas Vermaelen
                                                    22 Gael Clichy
                                                    27 Emmanuel Eboue(sub 81)
                                                    17 Alexandre Song Billong
                                                    4 Francesc Fabregas
                                                    2 Vassiriki Diaby(sub 87)
                                                    23 Andrey Arshavin
                                                    11 Robin van Persie
                                                    Substitutes
                                                    1 Manuel Almunia
                                                    8 Samir Nasri
                                                    9 Da Silva Eduardo(sub 87)
                                                    16 Aaron Ramsey
                                                    18 Mikael Silvestre
                                                    28 Kieran Gibbs
                                                    52 Nicklas Bendtner(sub 81)

                                                    Match stats

                                                    Team West Ham Arsenal
                                                    Possession
                                                    Shots on target 9 10
                                                    Shots off target 6 5
                                                    Corner 6 8
                                                    Fouls 18 15
                                                    Crosses 7 4

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